Hay-rack.



No.'774,662. 1 PATENIED NOV. 8, 1904. W. H. GIESE.

HAY RACK.

APPLIOATION run-n mm: 23, 1904.

No MODEL.

WITNESSES.- [NVENTOR UNITED STATES Patented November 8, 190%.

PATENT OFFICE.

HAY-RACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 774,662, datedNovember 8, 1904. Application filed June 23,1904. serial No. 213,791.(No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. GIEsE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bloomington, in the county of McLean and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hay-Racks; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same. reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

The object of the invention is an improved construction of hay-racks;and, more specifically stated, it consists in the combination andarrangement. of parts which constitute the frame of a hayack wherebygreater rigidity and stability are obtained.

Furthermore, the framework of my improved hay-rack is so designedthatwithout sacrificing in the least the above-mentioned desirable qualitiesit permits when placed on the bolsters of a wagon for the purposeoftransporting hay, grain, and the like a short turn to be made withoutcausing the 1 front Wheels to rub against the framework.

The construction by which these and other advantages are obtained willnow be explained in detail, reference being had to the accom panyingsheet of drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a hay-rackconstructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, andFig. 3 is a front end elevation thereof.

In said views, 1 and 2 are longitudinal sills running the full length ofthe rack and forming the main support for the rest of the frameworkthereof, being adapted to rest directly on the bolsters of the runninggear of a wagon, one such bolster and wheels being indicated at 4 and 5,respectively, in Fig. 1. Of course intermediate supports may be usedbetween saidsills and the.bolsters if it is desired to further elevatethe rack, and a crosspiece 3 is shown adapted to rest on the bolster ofthe rear wheels. The sills l and 2 are not arranged parallel to eachother, but converge toward the front end of the rack, as shown in Fig.1, and are connected intermeload were unevenly distributed.

diate their ends by cross-pieces 7, 8, 9, and 10, which in turn supportthe longitudinal side rails 11 of the rack. In order to raise said siderails to a convenient height, short pieces 12 are placed between themand the cross-pieces 7, 8, 9, and 10, as shown in Fig. 3. A top piece 13is securely attached to the upper sides of said side rails at theirfront ends, and this top piece is rigidly connected with the sills 1 and2 by the end plate 14, which extends across the front end of the rackbetween the inside side rails and has a central depending portion 15resting on the ends of said sills, which come together at this point.

While the structure so far described would constitute a rigid andserviceable frame for a hay-rack, yet it would lack stability and wouldhave a tendency to tip laterally if the To obviate this objection,(and-this, taken in connection with the arrangement of converging sillsrunning the whole length of the rack, constitutes the most importantfeature of my invention,) I employ short'parallel bolsterpieces 16 and17, arranged one on each side of the front ends of the sills l and 2,and tie them to the latter by a superimposed short cross-piece 18.Furthermore, the end plate 14: has, in addition to its central dependingportion 15, two lateral depending portions 19 and 20, to the lower endsof which the front ends of said bolster-pieces 16 and 17 are bolted.When in place on the running-gear of a wagon, the two sills 1 and 2 andthe two pieces 16 and 17 all rest upon the front bolster, whereby asolid support is provided for the front end of the rack, and at the sametime quite a short turn can be made, the front wheel then occupying theposition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The rear wheels (not shown) occupy the raised portions 21 and 22 of theside rails of the rack, and the front and rear standards to retain thehay or other load are represented at 23 and 2 1, respectively, saidstandards be ing pivoted at 25 and 26 for convenience in storing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. A hay-rack comprising a pair of longitudinal sills converging towardeach other from one end of the rack to the other, crosspieces securedthereto, side rails secured to said cross-pieces, two shortbolster-pieces arranged one on each side of the converging ends of saidsills, a cross-piece and an end plate to secure said bolster-pieces andsills together, said end plate also being secured to the ends of saidside rails.

2. A hay-rack comprising side rails and cross-pieces, a pair oflongitudinally-converging sills to which said cross-pieces are secured,a pair of short parallel bolster-pieces arranged on each side of saidsills near one end thereof and an end plate having three dependingportions to the center one of which the ends of said sills are securedand to the other two of which the ends of said bolsterpieces are securedand means to secure the ends of said side rails to said end plate.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM H. GIESE.

Witnesses Apens'r BOEKER, J AS. HOUGHTON.

